South Korea's major religious groups on Thursday urged the nation to respect the Constitutional Court's verdict, due on Friday, on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye and stand united regardless of the outcome.The Constitutional Court will deliver its ruling on Park, who was impeached by parliament in December for allegedly letting her confidante meddle in state affairs and colluding with her to extort millions of dollars from conglomerates. If the court upholds the impeachment, Park will

South Korea's military said Thursday the joint annual exercises with the United States will continue as planned one day after China requested a halt. On Wednesday, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed that North Korea suspend its nuclear and missile activities in return for a halt in the war drills by Seoul and Washington. Defense ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun (Yonhap)In response, Moon Sang-gyun, spokesman for South Korea's defense ministry, said in a press briefing, "The joint exercise

One day before a court ruling on President Park Geun-hye's impeachment, opposition parties on Thursday urged her to make sure that she will accept whatever decision the court may make.The Constitutional Court is set to determine the fate of Park on Friday, who was impeached by parliament in December over a corruption scandal. If the court upholds the impeachment, Park will be removed from office permanently. South Korea's Seoul-based Constitutional Court (Yonhap)"It is the final role of Park to

It seems as though “High School Rapper,” Mnet’s audition show that pits the country’s top teenage rappers against each other, just can’t catch a break from controversy.First, it was allegations that a contestant had solicited prostitution, followed by accusations of bullying by another. The latest? An innocent yet cringe-inducing production gaffe was aired last week that should embarrass Mnet and its parent company CJ E&M, a South Korean entertainment behemoth and self-professed evangelist of K-

The son of Kim Jong-nam, the recently assassinated half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, may be the next target, Japanese news reports quoted a former high-level North Korean diplomat as saying Thursday."Behind it all, there's Kim Jong-un's desire to solidify his legitimacy as the leader," Japanese new outlets quoted Thae Yong-ho, previously minister at the North Korean Embassy in London, as having said in a meeting with Japanese correspondents in Seoul a day earlier. Thae Yong-ho (Yo

Samsung Electronics Co. has been considering building a new plant in the United States in line with its "mid to long-term base strategy," a senior executive said Thursday. Seo Byung-sam, vice president of Samsung's home appliance unit, made the remarks at a meeting with reporters in Seoul, after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company is in preliminary talks to build a new US facility for home appliances.Samsung's logo (Yonhap)"We are considering building a plant in the United States i

South Korea's top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. are striving to boost their domestic market share with new models after suffering a setback last year due to underdogs' strong performances, industry sources said Thursday.The combined market share of Hyundai and Kia, the flagships of Hyundai Motor Group, ticked down to 65.4 percent in 2016 from 67.7 percent the previous year as their three smaller rivals performed better than expected.The downturn continued

South Korea will not likely suffer from massive job losses with the advent of the fourth industrial revolution -- which will bring production automation and a streamlined governance system -- due to preemptive investments, a report said Thursday.Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said recently his government will pursue state-run R&D funds and deregulation to improve the country's economic and social systems and make them more suited for the fourth industrial revolution.A file photo of South Korea's Fin

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a ruling that fined Shin Sang-hoon, former president of Shinhan Financial Group, 20 million won ($17,300) for embezzlement. Shin Sang-hoon (Yonhap file photo)The 69-year-old Shin was indicted in 2010 on charges of embezzling 1.56 billion won in consultancy fees between 2005 and 2009, inflicting a loss of 43.8 billion won on the company through the provision of illegal loans between 2006 and 2007 and pocketing 860 million won in bribes from three Korean-Japane

Contrary to what many in the United States may believe, the country's bilateral free trade agreement with South Korea has been mutually beneficial, if not more so for the United States, since its enactment five years earlier, a report suggested Thursday.According to the report from the Institute for International Trade, the combined share of American products in South Korea's import market came to 10.64 percent last year, up 2.14 percentage points from 8.5 percent in 2011, a year before the Kore

South Korean companies may need to take more risks in Russia, especially amid signs of economic recovery there, a report said Thursday.The report from the Korea International Trade Association noted the country's overall exports to Russia have dipped at a much greater rate than those of other countries, including the United States, that have been imposing economic sanctions against Moscow following its military intervention in Ukraine in early 2014. Russian currency, ruble (123RF)In 2015, South

The US government has decided to slap a higher than preliminarily set anti-dumping rate on large power transformers exported by a South Korean firm, the latest in a series of trade restrictions imposed on locally made goods under the Trump administration.Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a major shipyard here, said Thursday that the US Department of Commerce made a filing to impose a 61 percent anti-dumping duty on large power transformers produced by the shipbuilder.(Yonhap)In September last year,

The Constitutional Court was shrouded in secrecy Thursday as the justices made final preparations to deliver their ruling on whether to oust or reinstate President Park Geun-hye exactly one day later.Park was impeached by parliament in December for allegedly letting her close friend Choi Soon-sil meddle in state affairs and colluding with her to extort millions of dollars from local conglomerates, including Samsung Group.The verdict on her impeachment will be delivered by the court's acting chie

South Korea's state-run deposit insurer said Thursday it has opened a branch office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to help recover local property assets once owned by bankrupt Korean savings banks.Cambodia has 78.5 percent of overseas assets, mostly bad debts, currently managed by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp., which has taken over from defunct savings banks.The sign of the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. in an undated file photo (Yonhap)Several South Korean savings banks made investments in project

SM Group, a medium-sized shipping group in South Korea, is set to be picked as the preferred bidder for STX Corp. this week, industry sources said Thursday.According to the sources, SM Group and three others made offers earlier this week to buy the cash-strapped STX, an affiliate of the now-defunct shipping conglomerate STX.The logo of SM Group (Yonhap)Since mid-February, trading of STX has been suspended on the Seoul bourse due to the erosion of its capital base. The company faces the risk of b

Faltering private consumption is dragging down South Korea's flaccid economic recovery, which has shown some signs of an upturn in exports and investment, a government report said Thursday."An upside mode of exports is expanding to production and investment, but domestic demand, such as consumption, continues to slow down and limit the recovery for the entire economy," the finance ministry said in its monthly economy assessment report called the "Green Book."An image depicting the sluggish econo

GM Korea Co. said Thursday it has lowered the price of its new compact car amid the delay in the production and delivery of the vehicles to address defective airbag parts.The South Korean unit of USautomaker General Motors Co. cut the price range of the All New Cruze models to 16.9 million won ($14,616) and 23.4 million won, down from their earlier price range of 18.9 million won and 24.7 million won.(Yonhap)The original price tags were a bit higher than their competitors, Hyundai Motor Co.'s Av

A senior executive of KEB Hana Bank has quit for allegedly being promoted to his previous post with the backing of President Park Geun-hye's confidante, the lender said Thursday.KEB Hana Bank said it accepted the resignation submitted by Lee Sang-hwa, who was in charge of global sales at the major South Korean lender, on Wednesday.The logo of KEB Hana Bank (Yonhap)Lee had been relieved of his duties as of Tuesday.Lee's departure came just days after special prosecutors said that Park's longtime

South Korea has set up a monument to honor a late US airman for his contributions during the 1950-53 Korean War, the military said Thursday.The monument was unveiled in a ceremony at the Jeju Aerospace Museum on the country's southern resort island of Jeju to remember Col. Dean E. Hess, called the "father of war orphans" and trainer of South Korean pilots during the war, the Air Force said in a statement. The monument honoring Col. Dean E. Hess (Courtesy of the Air Force) (Yonhap)In December 195

Obesity sharply increases the risk of developing chronic kidney failure, a report said Thursday, urging obese people to undergo regular testing to prevent the disease.In the report released to mark World Kidney Day, the Korean Society of Nephrology said chronic kidney disease has been found to be 3.8 times more likely to develop in super obese people with a body mass index of 35 or higher. (Yonhap)The prevalence of kidney disease for super obese people stands at 25.2 percent, compared to the cor